When my daughter was younger we bought her a traffic jam game.  It was a puzzle that had a red car that you needed to get out of a parking lot by moving other cars forward and back so the red car could get to the exit.  (I know that was the worst description in […]

I really like Mike Slaughter.  He’s the first United Methodist pastor I was ever aware of with “rock star” status.  He’s the pastor at Ginghamsburg Church in Tipp City.  That’s just north of the Dayton airport and half an hour from downtown.  In spite of its remote location, it is the largest United Methodist Church in […]

If you started the year with a new financial secretary he or she is probably pretty depressed seven Sundays into the new year.  He or she may have taken the total amount pledged, divided it by 52 and figured that was what you would receive each Sunday. Or you may a pastor who, while, new […]

There is no doubt that church committee work is cyclical and this is absolutely true for Stewardship Committees.  After Labor Day they start to get organized, are busy in October and November, are done by Thanksgiving or so and are back to sleep before the Christmas decorations are put away. Afterall, there is really nothing […]

Last summer I had the chance to hear some of the most insightful leaders who are thinking about United Methodism.  One of them was Reverend Gil Rendle. Rev. Rendle worked his career as a pastor and is now on the staff at the Texas Methodist Foundation.  I hung on every word he said for his […]

Advent, of course, is the time before Christmas.  It is the process of building toward Christmas Eve and, of course, Christmas morning.  The problem is that once December 26 has come, it’s over. Adam Hamilton, who regular readers to this blog know I respect greatly, uses Christmas as a lead-in to January.  In his book […]

By now I’m fairly sure that everyone who is doing a fall stewardship campaign has completed it. So give us all some feedback on what you did and how you did.  If you scroll down a bit, just above the big orange signs it says “Leave a comment” in red letters.  Or you can email […]

My neighborhood at home is off of a state route that is under major construction.  Just south of our street the road is closed.  Really, really closed.  So closed that the concrete is gone and the dirt is showing.  They don’t get more closed than that. This fact is announced in several signs before you […]

Wow, what a great response to last week’s post about electronic giving!  It was the most-read entry we’ve had in 12 weeks! One church member told me that his church does nearly all of its “transactions” with members electronically.  These are things other than the offering, like registering for VBS.  And the biggest fan is the […]

By now your fall stewardship campaign may be over, for others that time is still a month or so away. Whatever your timeline, keep in mind that the day after your commitment Sunday does not indicate the end of the campaign. There is still work to be done. I strongly urge you to contact each […]